New York Hospital Testing Patient For Possible Ebola Virus

A medical worker and police officer stand outside Mount Sinai Medical Center where a male patient with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms is undergoing testing for the Ebola virus following a recent trip to West Africa, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014, in New York. The report comes as officials at U.S. airports are watching travelers from Africa for flu-like symptoms that could be tied to the recent Ebola outbreak. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital is putting a man through the rigors of testing for the deadly Ebola virus, after he recently returned from West Africa exhibiting symptoms that are typically associated with the viral strain according to ABC News.

The unidentified patient reportedly arrived at Mount Sinai’s emergency room early Monday morning with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. Since the patient mentioned to hospital workers that he had visited West Africa last month, the doctors at the medical facility decided to take all necessary precautions.

According to ABC News, the man is now under very strict isolation conditions and tests are underway to determine if he in fact contracted Ebola. Mount Sinai report that they are working very closely with the city and state’s health officials and have taken every single precaution to safeguard all staff, patients and visitors.

Even though many are now ruffled by the fact that a patient with all of the classic symptoms of Ebola is in a metropolis like New York City, Mount Sinai health officials want to calm any fears, “After consultation with CDC and Mount Sinai, the [NYC] Health Department has concluded that the patient is unlikely to have Ebola. Specimens are being tested for common causes of illness and to definitively exclude Ebola,” says a department spokesperson according to ABC News.

Dr. Richard Besser, an ABC News chief health and medical editor, states that the patient’s symptoms don’t necessarily have to mean he has been stricken with the virus. “Many things cause fever and gastrointestinal symptoms,” Besser said. “The steps they are taking are wise given the travel history, but nothing about the symptoms is specific to Ebola.”

Meanwhile, the Ebola virus death toll in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone continues on an upward spike. According to the World Health Organization, the virus has claimed a staggering 887 lives. Last week, United States health officials announced that Americans should avoid traveling to the West African regions that are heavily effected by Ebola to lessen the risk of contracting the virus.